Yes, different types of interferons in the body help protect against viruses. In 1957, British virologist Alick Isaacs (1921–1967) and Croatian virologist Jean Lindenmann (1924–) identified a group of over substances that were later designated as alpha, beta, and gamma interferons depending on their molecular structure; more recently, two other classes have been discovered—omega and tau. So far, more than twenty kinds of interferon-alpha have been found, along with only one interferon-beta and one inter-feron-gamma identified.

Interferons can be further broken down into type 1 (including interferon-alpha, -beta, -omega, and -tau) and type 2 (interferon-gamma), depending on their amino acid sequence. In general, type 1 interferons make cells resistant to the viral infection; type 2 is responsible for regulating the overall immune system function.